What could have been a love story (Jean x Annie)
by Itohan
Summary: A collection of One Shots about what could have happened between Annie and Jean if they’d had the chance.
1. Training

"Fuck!"

He hadn't even managed to slightly damage the training dummy at all. If he wanted to get back at Jäger for embarrassing him at dinner yesterday, Jean would have to get stronger. He couldn't lose his place in the top ten to that bastard! Even if that meant he'd have to train for hours during the night.

He sent another unsuccessful kick towards the dummy's middle. His angry gaze fell upon the dirt beneath him. Was he really that much of a weakling that even Jäger would be able to surpass him?

 **"The way you stand is all wrong."**

Jean turned around and locked eyes with Annie.How long had she been standing there?

"What makes you think that?" He asked while rolling his etwas as he turned back around and resumed kicking the wooden mannequin. As if she could do better...

Not answering his question the blonde crept closer until Jean could feel her small body press into his back."What are you doing?!" he sputtered out and tried to keep his balance as he almost stumbled over.

"I'm correcting your stance. It's a pain to look at, Kirstein!"

Her hands guided his arms and then his legs from the fighting stance the instructors had shown them into one somewhat similar to the one Jäger had used yesterday.

"You have to utilize your strength more. The default stance restrictions you from doing so. Now try again..."

He did as instructed and send a kick towards the dummy again while using the new technique.The dummy fell down with a crash onto the ground in front of them. He had actually done it."Thank you, Annie!"

But she was already walking back towards the girl's barracks leaving him alone at the empty training field.


	2. Stuck in between

**Summary:**

 **Jean doesn't know what they are. He only knows that he cares about Annie.**

 **Addition: Jean decides he might be a little bit selfish and promises to make it up to Marco sometime**

 **Marco likes Annie, Jean does too.**

"You know, Jean, have you ever noticed how pretty Annie is?"

Jean raised his head out of his arms and looked sleepily at Marco.

"Hmm- what did you say?"

Marco quickly looked over his shoulder around the mess hall and then itched closer towards Jeans space in the bench.

"I said that I think that Annie's very pretty. I think I might actually kinda like her."

Marco started spinning his small metal fork on the wooden table as he continued.

"I mean I know that Mikasa's more like your type." A small laugh left Marco's mouth as the fork clinked against Jean's plate. "But even though you haven't really had any successes with her, you're the only one I can talk about girl problems with."

Honestly Jean had thoughts about Annie in that way which he would and now never could admit to anyone else.

But... He looked up from his and Marco's table and and searched the room for the small blonde. She as nowhere to be found. Normally she would be there at the table in the back of the hall. They weren't supposed to miss out on dinner. If the instructor caught her, Annie would be in trouble.

Jean stood up from the hard bench and quietly told Marco: "l'm not feeling too well. I think I am gonna go back to the barracks and sleep."

His friend sympathetically grimaced at him and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "Get well soon."

Jean just couldn't tell the freckled boy that he would be looking for Annie. His and her friendship was an unusual one and she didn't feel comfortable with it being out. They weren't the kind of people one would expect to be friends and they knew that.

The bone chilling cold hit Jean the instant he closed the door behind him and stepped outside. It wasn't even winter yet but he could swear it was just as cold.

The leaves crunched under him as he stepped through the small forest on his way to the girls

barracks. If he'd get caught he would be in a very compromising position. Would he even be able to explain himself?

„If I have to run laps because of her, Annie is so going to owe me. Why does she always have to oversleep?"

Jean winced when the door to the girls barracks squeaked when he opened it and quickly walked inside. His limbs started to warm and he started to walk along the dimly lit hallway. As far as he could remember from his conversation with Annie, her and her roommates room was supposed to be at the end of the hallway.

He clutched the metal handle and let his fingertips rhythmically tap against it. He felt nervous. He considered knocking for a second but decided against it. Knocking would make everything even more suspicious than it already was. A girl probably wouldn't knock because she was scared of disturbing Annie if she was getting changed, like Jean was at this moment.

He finally gathered the courage he needed to open the door and determinately stepped inside. The room really didn't differ a lot from the one he shared at the boys barracks, the only difference was the number in beds.

"Annie, come on. You're missing dinner and the instructor will be pissed at you if he catches wind of you slacking off."

"Hmm.."

He followed the tired groan to one of the bunk beds at the left side of the room and climbed the ladder of to the one where he saw Annie's bedhead rise from.

"Seriously you've got me worried for a second when you didn't turn up, you know."

Suddenly a hand appeared out of the mess of blankets and pulled him into the bed.

Annie turned around and looked at him through the hair that covered her face.

She almost looked cute if it wasn't for the deadly glare.

"Shut up. Pull off your shoes and stay quiet."

Jean couldn't believe what was going on but followed her instructions and crawled under her blanket. Annie closed her eyes again and pressed her forehead against his chest.

"We are going to be in so much trouble if we're caught."

"Just stay, we'll deal with the problems later on."

Annie's hand brushed his and he could feel a blush creep onto his face. He hesitated for a second but grasped hers within his.

Jean leaned back into the comfortable bed and closer his eyes.

 _Maybe this could work out somehow._


	3. Once upon a summer

Once upon a summer

"It's too hot to train."

Even Annie agreed with Marco's statement. During the last days the weather had only gotten hotter and hotter without a drop of rain.

"Well then," Jean suggested "let's go for a swim in the lake."

The mentioned lake was hidden deep within the forest and only recently discovered by Marco on one of his strolls during the last day off. He'd only told Jean and Annie about it so far as the former one was what he would consider his best friend in the unit and Annie because they'd often study together quietly in their free time and had somehow become friends. As Annie and him got closer, Annie began sitting with him and Jean during dinner, then for every meal and suddenly they all would spend their days off together on the grounds or even sometimes in Trost as if they had always been like that.

It had all led to them lying exhausted on the training field while the other cadets continued training their hand to hand combat skills. Normally Annie wouldn't miss the chance to spar with Jäger and crush him to a pulp but after a few rounds she declared their fight for over and left him to train with someone else while she sat down next to Jean who'd been sitting far off the whole training session. Or rather his napping session. They had quietly conversed till Marco finally joined them after about half an hour had passed since Annie had given up training for the day. He slumped over next to her breathing rapidly and being as red as a tomato while sweating almost as much as Berthold on a normal day.

And now they were marching through the forest towards the cool lake awaiting them. Marco suggested sneaking some food out of the kitchen first but Annie just determinedly walked off not even waiting for them to follow her. "We're only going away for a little. It's not like anyone would actually care." Jean remarked offhandedly as he wiped way the gallon of sweat rolling down his forehead while longingly staring towards the wall of trees Annie had just disappeared into. And with that the two of them stepped away from their trainee duties and quickly caught up with their companion.

After an exhausting fifteen minutes of walk-in in tight uncomfortable leather boots through the harsh terrain of the forest the three arrived at their destination. The blue lake glistened as the sunlight met it, only the small sandy island within the middle of it stopping it from appearing endless. They sat down on a small field of flowers close to the water which wasn't as littered with branches as the other parts and began stripping out of their uniforms. Marco setting a new record of getting out of his jacket and boots, sprinted into the lake creating a huge wave. An already finished Jean sat down to Annie's right, slinging his left arm around her shoulders breaking her out of her concentrated effort of getting out of her boots and she let out a sigh when she finally freed her feet without following the urge of hitting Jean's arm off.

"What is it, Jean?"

Unfaltered by Annie's somewhat annoyed look Jean smiled down at her. At least she hadn't pushed off his arm yet? He used his free hand to run his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat before answering her question. "I wanted you to know I'm glad that we are friends. I don't think that I've told you that before, so here we are. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let copy my notes for the theory test next week or something. Now hurry up!" He then flusteredly turned his face away and and took his arm off Annie's shoulders while he continued: "Well, I'm gonna join Marco now... You know how he is," and ran into the water to jump onto his friend's back almost drowning him in the process.

The brown leather jacket Annie had been wearing for the last three years fell down to the ground with a heavy thud. She looked down onto the rest of her clothes, she just like Marco and Jean would keep her blouse, trousers and harness on. Because taking those off would have been an uncomfortable situation for all of them and as they would easily dry in the heat on the way back to the barracks after getting wet.

Seeing the trainee emblem on her jacket filled her with disgust. "All the same. Here or at home, it doesn't matter." But she needed to carry on and so she discarded the thought as she stepped close to the lake in which her friends were already swimming. With every step into the water she got closer to them till she was fully engulfed in cool lake and swam over.

"Hey Jean! Look who finally made it," teased a dripping wet Marco while spluttering as he pushed over Jean.

After about an hour had passed since their arrival at the lake and Annie and Marco had decided to dry off at the small island within the lake while dangling their feet into the water. Jean meanwhile continued swimming into the lake, finally having a chance to get rid off all the tension stuck in him.

"Do you ever think about home, Annie? I mean you must miss it sometime, right?"

She hesitatingly played with the lose strains of her bun before finally answering Marco's question. "Of course I miss it. It's my home... how couldn't I? I wish to get to see it again one day and when that happens I want to be someone my father could be proud of. But I'm not a moron that believes I'm retaking Wall Maria. It's **impossible**."

 _What am I even saying?_

Her gaze turned cold as she stared off into the sky not meeting Marco's eyes. "That's why I am not like Jäger. I don't believe in dreams, I believe in facts which is my reason for joining the Military Police after we've graduated. I'm not an Is-" A wave of cool water hit Annie as Jean splashed her and Marco from behind, startling the two of them. A loud high pitched scream escaped Marco and Annie toppled over herself into the water, now completely soaked again.

"Haha! Got ya' suckers!" boasted Jean while striking an embarrassing pose as he stood in front of his victims. And within a second Marco and Annie retaliated by tackling Jean into the lake. Now as Annie lied in a tangled mess of limbs soaked to the boot, she laughed and Jean and Marco laughed with her.

 _If only it could stay like this forever._


	4. Despair

Despair

"Why would you ever want to face the Titans again, Jean? Why would you after Trost...?"

Annie couldn't comprehend it. If he joined the Survey Corps he would die. It was a fact. It didn't matter if it was trough a Titan or by her hand, he would die.

"Please don't. Just join the Military Police with me," she reached for Jean's hand and tightly squeezed it "Together."

Was it selfish of her to try to spare this one life while she hadn't made efforts to safe others? She was nothing more than a simple weapon. A tool for someone else's benefit. But.. she wanted to have something for herself just once in her life. **If her life wasn't hers why couldn't she have his?**

"I don't want you to die too."

 _Her mind wandered back to Marco's death. He was begging for her to stop, to help him. But she didn't. Reiner's gaze burned on her back and tears prickled out of her yes. If she didn't do this she could never go home. She would never see her father again..._

 _Annie grabbed Marco's 3Ds maneuver gear and begann ripping it off him piece by piece, disassembling it without even having to think about the steps. She had helped Mina change out of hers often enough to do it effortlessly on someone else besides herself. Mina who was dead..._

 _" **Why Annie?! A-** "_

"-nnie, I'm sorry,"

"But I won't change my mind. Not even you can stop me from joining the Survey Corps."

Annie thought about killing him and herself right then as he pulled her into a tight hug. Why has it come to this? Jean's arms trembled while he held her and she couldn't do anything but feel helpless faced with what was to come.

"I'm sorry."


End file.
